The present disclosure relates to a dryer (or drying) drawer. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to drying drawers employing circulating drying air through the drawer.
Traditionally, dryers use very high wattage heaters and open ducts to allow the free flow of air to remove water from clothing articles. Clothing is tumbled during this process which can cause garment wear. Also, the traditional drying process is not conducive for shoes and other bulky items. The problem solved is to drastically reduce the time required to dry articles of clothing et al., while minimizing the energy required to complete the drying cycle.
The use of drawer type dryers or compartment dryers can be particularly effective for woolens and delicate items (i.e. sweaters) which are not well suited for drying by conventional tumble dryers. In addition, other clothing items not well suited for tumbling, i.e. shoes, gloves, etc., can also effectively be dried with a drying drawer. Also, in locations where energy is at a premium, drying drawers can be more energy efficient than conventional dryers. In drying drawers, the clothes can be placed or positioned on a support rack. The drying drawers can simply circulate outside air through the cabinet in cases where the outside air is relatively dry. Heaters may also be used to heat the air supplied to the drying drawer. In still other embodiments, air is at least partially recirculated through the drawer while moisture is removed from the recirculating air so as to maintain a supply of drying air and to reduce the remaining moisture content (RMC) of the articles therein.